I completely agree, Matt. I am also on the fence, as my renewal's also coming up soon. I was willing to pay $599 to go from Studio MX to DevNet Pro, but to have to pay $599 every year? Not with what's out there. I also don't presently do a lot of work on the side, except for my MMUG, so I know I can't justify it for business purposes. If there was a compelling reason to renew, I would, but there isn't right now. I may renew out of guilt. I also don't know if you can renew AFTER your subscription expires. I'd like to have the option to renew LATER, after expiry, if there was a compelling reason to. Also: After expiry, can you no longer download what you have already paid for? These are the things I will consider when renewal time comes, as well as my own financial situation.

FYI: I don't think you get CDs anymore.

I've really had problems struggling with the same reasoning you are having, and haven't yet renewed.

Another thing that I was under the impression of being a part of the DevNet Professional was guaranteeed early beta inclusion or some such, which would also add value.

I really like some of the things you are mentioned, in particular: 1,2, and 3.

- Calvin

For me I love devnet because of having a Dev Flash Com server and a Dev Cold Fusion Box is nice, especially with open Ip's so I can have my client test them without moving them onto a pricey prodcution server. Before I would have to spend 10k on dev boxes alone. I think they should move to a two year Devnet subscription for the same price, and give us Flex and Breeze accounts :-)

For me I love devnet because of having a Dev Flash Com server and a Dev Cold Fusion Box is nice, especially with open Ip's so I can have my client test them without moving them onto a pricey prodcution server. Before I would have to spend 10k on dev boxes alone. I think they should move to a two year Devnet subscription for the same price, and give us Flex and Breeze accounts :-)

I just let my Devnet subscription expire. Here is why.

Most MM development tools run on an 18 month schedule, so in April we saw the release of MX 2004 products. My renewal was supposed to be in July. So from the time I renew and the renewal expires, it is about 16 months from the last release, so I am going to pay $599 for 4 DRK's of which there may be 1 or 2 interesting and useful things I would have benefited from, judging from the past few DRK's, these would have been commercial extensions that I could just purchase from interakt or web assist just as well (I purchased the MX loopers, only to see them pop up a little later on the DRK).

Now the flash video kit comes out, and new people will get it, not existing customers, hmmm, flash is a client tool, I am paying to protect my investment in software, but now I am not privvy to this unless I spend $49.00 more....

I really think that MM has done great harm to the DevNet program. I remember purchasing it with the promise that there would be some awesome DRK's that subscribers would receive a full quarter ahead of anyone else. We neither one of those conditions lasted, DRK's have become slightly mediocre at best, and there is no advance release to the DevNet subscribers.

Also the fact that I will get updates to all the software when released is really not all that enticing. I am sure the majority of Designers or Developers are with me in not really using ALL the tools. I am mostly a CF developer. I can work fireworks inside and out and from a previous design background it is an invaluable tool for me, I don't use flash much, I will someday (I have been saying this for years, to busy doing CF work though) I don't use freehand much, and I use DW like crazy. On the server side, I don't use FlashComm, I use CF, no central development etc. It is good to be able to try them, but a trial that is a free download available to the general public serves 99% of my need as it is. So the "thousands" available in developer editions of servers is not that enticing.

You want me to renew or keep my subscription? Sync your subscription length with product cycle length, add some software like RoboDemo, publish compelling well documented items (I think the documentation has been asked for tons of times in the forums) in DevNet, give me some subscriber only content, special access to something, or maybe access to electronic version of the Macromedia Press books, that would be good. Make it more of a developer / designer worthy package.

Just my thoughts - I could go on but my hands are already tired and it is only 8am.

Bill

Hi Matt, I didn't see that email, and so don't know whether it had a "feedback" type of address in it... I'll point other staffers to the thread here, but if the requests can get directly to the decisionmakers on this package then that could help too. (They've got built-in incentive to make something that would be sufficiently attractive to sufficient numbers of people, so hearing feedback helps.)

I see "how long to renew?" in the FAQ, but don't see things like "still download after subscription lapses?"... these unaddressed issues would be good to get into the FAQ, true...?

tx,
jd/mm

A lot of good points from people here. I'd respond if I had much more to add. All I really can say is that right now I really do feel like I got ripped on my subscription and wonder if now I'm just paying a $599 fee for Studio 2005 when I could buy it for $399 in February (NOTE: this is just my off the cuff comment it says nothing about anything Macromedia is planning).

JD -- This is probably the best place to post comments.

I have to chime in and add my two cents here...Matt has some very valid points here -- points that I agree with to a large extent. I was an early adopter of the DevNet subscription and have been quite disappointed in it since its inception...

I'll formulate my thoughts more clearly and post onto this comments thread later today.

Matt:

Ever consider publishing full content in an RSS 2.0 feed?

Steve

Hi Matt,

Thanks for starting a great discussion on improvements needed for DevNet. We’ve been working on improvements to the program, and this feedback will be very valuable in helping us improve. I wanted make sure that I understood your concerns and speak to them as much as possible for you and readers of your blog. Just to summarize, these are the main issues about DevNet that I’ve read from you and readers of your blog:

1. DevNet is not worth the additional price over Studio MX; Studio MX 2004 upgrades cost significantly less than DevNet renewals.

2. DevNet does not contain all of the software that Macromedia sells such as Director, RoboDemo, or RoboHelp.

3. If you renew, there is no way of knowing what products or upgrades you will get in the next 12 months of your subscription.

4. Macromedia does not allow the two machine licenses (work and home/laptop) for products to be installed on two different platforms.

5. Development tools for Central should be included in DevNet.

6. There should be an option for paying DevNet renewal fees on a quarterly basis.

7. Concerns over the quality and content of the DevNet Resource Kits.

8. DevNet subscribers should get the Flash Video Kit.

9. Customers should still have access to their DevNet portal after the subscription expires.

There are a lot of valid concerns here – let me see if I can address them…

DevNet is not worth the additional price over Studio MX; Studio MX 2004 upgrades cost significantly less than DevNet renewals.

The upgrade price from Studio MX to Studio MX 2004 with Flash Pro (which is what DevNet included) is $499, and the DevNet Renewal is $599 – or a $100 difference. For that extra $100, DevNet subscribers have use of a portal with the Studio MX products, four quarterly Developer Resource Kits (valued at $396), additional software such as Contribute 3 and FlashPaper 2, and special development licenses of ColdFusion and JRun. While I can’t say with certainty what the upgrade price from Studio MX 2004 to the next version of Studio will be, it will probably be less than a DevNet renewal. If you think that the only items you’ll value in DevNet are the products in Studio MX then it probably does not make sense for you to renew your subscription.

DevNet does not contain all of the software that Macromedia sells such as Director, RoboDemo, or RoboHelp.

We constrained DevNet Professional to the products that are currently included because we heard from customers that they wanted to keep the pricing at the current level, and adding products like Director and RoboDemo would result in significant price increases. However, we are constantly evaluating the product mix in DevNet and will consider adding other Macromedia products in the future. At this time, though, there are no specific plans to add those products on the portal.

If you renew, there is no way of knowing what products or upgrades you will get in the next 12 months of your subscription.

It’s true and undoubtedly somewhat frustrating that there is no way of knowing what you will get in the next 12 months besides the DRKs and server software. This is not about DevNet, though – it’s a company policy to not preannounce product release dates.

Macromedia does not allow the two machine licenses (work and home/laptop) for products to be installed on two different platforms.

It’s true that the end user license agreement from Macromedia allows you to install your product on two computers (a work computer and a home/portable computer), but not on different platforms. We are definitely evaluating this policy, but any changes are likely to happen with the next major rev of the products, rather than mid-cycle. I have forwarded your comments, however, to the team that will be considering license changes.

Development tools for Central should be in DevNet.

Currently all Central development tools are available to the general public at http://www.macromedia.com/software/central/. If there were Central developer tools that were not free, they most likely would be included in DevNet. However, there are no public plans for Central-specific tool support other than ongoing work in the Flash authoring tool.

There should be an option for paying DevNet renewal fees on a quarterly basis.

I actually haven’t heard this request before, but it’s an interesting idea. Our current renewal backend system would not support this, but I will add this as a request if we change our renewal system in the future.

Concerns over the quality and content of the DevNet Resource Kits.

I understand the concerns over the quality and the content of the DRKs. In the past, there were components that were released with out sufficient documentation. However we have been trying to address these concerns by releasing updates to these components and by making sure that all new components and extensions are thoroughly documented. I have also been reading a lot of blog postings and soliciting suggestions for future DRK content on the DRK web forum and through various Flash and Dreamweaver lists. If you have any specific ideas about content for an upcoming DRK or concern about the quality of a specific extension or component, please send it to us via the wish form at http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/?6213=26.

DevNet subscribers should get the Flash Video Kit.

I’m glad to hear interest in the Flash Video Kit, because DevNet subscribers will get components of the Video Kit when it is made available to the general public sometime in the next few weeks (it has been announced but is not actually available for download yet). DevNet subscribers will receive an email when the download is available in the portal. The DevNet version of the kit will contain the Flash Video Extension, extensive documentation on using video in websites, and the 15 day free trial to the Flash Video Streaming Service Lite by VitalStream. It will not contain the special version of Sorenson Squeeze due to our agreement with that vendor.

Customers should still have access to their DevNet portal after the subscription expires.

This is a currently supported feature of DevNet: when your subscription does expire, you’ll still be able to login and download all of the software that you received during your DevNet subscription period. Not surprisingly, you won’t get any new products added to the portal after your subscription has expired.

Again, many thanks to you for starting this conversation, and to your readers for their suggestions. I hope this summary addresses all of your questions and concerns. As JD mentioned, please use the feature request form at http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/?6213=26 at anytime to send use feedback or email wish-devnet@macromedia.com.

Thanks,
Heidi Voltmer
Product Manager, DevNet